She doesn't want to wear anything on the bottom...

[ckuretich]

My five year-old has become pickier and pickier about what she'll wear.  It started with not wanting to wear panties (about 2 weeks ago) because they touch her and bother her bottom - so after buying a bigger size (even with days of the week - which used to be really exciting to her...) and hand-sewing a pair of boxer briefs for her (still too much fabric down there in-between and she didn't like that when she put pants on they got pushed up a little) we decided - ok, she doesn't have to wear panties as long as she wears pants (and clean ones every day).

I also bought her a bunch of new clothes in larger sizes (she's already big for her age and wore a size 6, so I went up to 7-8 and even some 10's in shirts because she started complaining about them touching her armpits and being tight on her arms...)  Only one pair of pants and two boys size medium t-shirts are acceptable out of three bags of new clothes...

So during this underwear struggle she developed a rash - which turned out to be scarlet fever.  She never had any symptoms of strep, so we didn't take her in until the rash appeared.  Anyhow - she's been treated with antibiotics and we're doing lots of soothing unscented lotion on the rash every day in the meantime.  I'm hoping this is all related - and keep trying to convince my hubby that is what is is rather than her trying to exert her will over ours...  But I'm a little worried it's not, because she's done the underwear strike thing before about 3 months ago.  I also went and bought more clothes (baggy sweatpants and bigger t-shirts) which also don't seem to be cutting the bill...

For now, my stance is that she can wear whatever she wants as long as she's covered.  It just gets a lot more difficult on days when I have to get her (and her little brother) ready for pre-school and get myself to work on time... Oh - and I told her we're not buying any more clothes.

Any suggestions on what to do are gladly welcomed!

[mamazee]

Hi!

This issue comes up every so often here and seems to be associated with kids who have some level of sensory processing issue. I'm not an expert on that but I'll bump this for you, and you also might find that some of the moms in the Special Needs Parenting forum might have some words of wisdom, as I know there are a lot of moms with kids with Sensory Processing Disorder who post there. http://www.mothering.com/community/f/157/special-needs-parenting

Good luck!

[phenomom]

Hi

I'm sorry your having a hard time with getting your DD dressed. I can totally relate and it does sound like a sensory issue, although I'm surprised it started so late. MY DD had issues since she was a newborn. With her food was also an issue (textures and smells) I also remember she didn't like her hands being touched. Getting her to stay dressed was hard even outside, she used to just take off her clothes (like at the park for example). She is now 6 years old and the getting dressed part is the hardest. What I have done is just experimenting with what works and if a clothing item worked for her I tried to get more of the same. I believe it is also an emotional thing, so she might have a "good phase" and then she might be going through some emotional issues / or developmental new stage ( I haven't figured it all out) and the clothing issue is much stronger. I have found making her pants has worked especially when she was younger. I made her some "harem pants", they worked very well (I made it with a stretchy jersey fabric). I just lowered all expectations and just ask her to be dressed when we leave the house I don't care what she wears whatsoever and making that change in attitude has really helped. She doesn't usually wear any underwear. I do buy a lot of loose clothes but it's all a trial and error. We have a FB page for highly sensitive children and most of them have some sort of issue with sensory integration whether its food or clothing. Also there is a book by Dr. Sears called The Highly Sensitive Child.

Because it is a lot of trial and error, I usually buy my clothes at the thrift store, take it home and try it out (not all on the same day), and keep what works (usually only a few pieces out of the whole bunch) and give the rest to friends.

Feel free to private message me if you want more ideas and good luck mama hang in there :-)

Good luck!

[phenomom]

Hi

I'm sorry your having a hard time with getting your DD dressed. I can totally relate and it does sound like a sensory issue, although I'm surprised it started so late. MY DD had issues since she was a newborn. With her food was also an issue (textures and smells) I also remember she didn't like her hands being touched. Getting her to stay dressed was hard even outside, she used to just take off her clothes (like at the park for example). She is now 6 years old and the getting dressed part is the hardest. What I have done is just experimenting with what works and if a clothing item worked for her I tried to get more of the same. I believe it is also an emotional thing, so she might have a "good phase" and then she might be going through some emotional issues / or developmental new stage ( I haven't figured it all out) and the clothing issue is much stronger. I have found making her pants has worked especially when she was younger. I made her some "harem pants", they worked very well (I made it with a stretchy jersey fabric). I just lowered all expectations and just ask her to be dressed when we leave the house I don't care what she wears whatsoever and making that change in attitude has really helped. She doesn't usually wear any underwear. I do buy a lot of loose clothes but it's all a trial and error. We have a FB page for highly sensitive children and most of them have some sort of issue with sensory integration whether its food or clothing. Also there is a book by Dr. Sears called The Highly Sensitive Child.

Because it is a lot of trial and error, I usually buy my clothes at the thrift store, take it home and try it out (not all on the same day), and keep what works (usually only a few pieces out of the whole bunch) and give the rest to friends.

Feel free to private message me if you want more ideas and good luck mama hang in there :-)

Good luck!

[phenomom]

Sorry I forgot to mention she doesn't wear underwear if its those skirts with the underwear shorts in it/attached or if wearing pants or overalls other wise she wears loos panties ( I found some good ones that work) and then all I have been buying with the nice weather is big loose dresses - it works great for us. Good luck !